Tim Tebow: ‘I’m feeling more comfortable every day’

FOXBORO — After getting a chance to take a look at film of his first preseason action against the Eagles, Patriots third-string quarterback Tim Tebow sounded encouraged by the way things went down, but acknowledged that there’s still a long way to go.

“Some things were good, some things you have to work on,” he said Tuesday after practice. “I’m trying to do everything the other guys are doing and obviously learn as we go. But I’m feeling more comfortable every day.”

Tebow, who finished 4-for-12 for 55 yards passing to go along with four carries for 31 yards, was pressed into action quickly late in the second quarter after backup Ryan Mallett went down. He said it was a challenge to be throw into the action that quickly, but something he’s gotten used to.

“Just physically getting loose. Being ready to go physically — you’re just standing there for a while. That’s something that I’ve had some practice with. You try and get ready,” he said. “[But] you have to be ready to go in this league. You never know when your number is called. You have to get loose fast and get ready to go.”

Patriots coach Bill Belichick said Tuesday morning that he wasn’t ready to talk about Tebow as a finalist for the 53-man roster, adding, “there’s a lot of competition out there. We’ll see how it all plays out.’ For his part, the former Heisman winner said that right now, his focus is about taking advantage of the opportunities that are placed in front of him and “enjoying the process and having a lot of fun doing it.”

“It’s going well. Just trying to work hard every day, improve. Every time you get a rep, learn from it. When you don’t, try and get mental reps watching a great one out there. You get a lot of mental reps,” he said.

“I’ve really enjoyed it. I love the offense. Being able to learn from a great quarterback — one of the best ever to play. To be able to learn from coach McDaniels and work with coach Daboll and coach [Scarnecchia] and everybody who has been in this offense, it’s been a pleasure for me.”